STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Who is "Taylan," and what does he know about the Staten Island woman who disappeared while visiting Turkey?

According to several reports, that is what authorities there are trying to learn as they attempt to locate Sarai Sierra, 33, of Silver Lake, a mother of two who has been missing since Jan. 21 when she was supposed to return home from a solo vacation in Istanbul. Police there have set up a special unit to find her.

Turkey's private Dogan news agency, citing unnamed sources, said Mrs. Sierra had exchanged messages through her email account with a person who went by the name of "Taylan" although it was not known if that was his real name or an alias. It claimed the two agreed to meet on Galata Bridge, a tourist destination about 2 kilometers (more than a mile) from her hostel.

Dogan said police were scanning through security camera images around the bridge to see if the alleged meeting ever took place. The agency said police had identified the IP address of the device "Taylan" had allegedly used to correspond with Mrs. Sierra.

A separate report, by the Hurriyet Daily News, said police there are looking for four Turkish citizens - including the individual "Taylan" - who contacted Mrs. Sierra while she was in Istanbul.

According to that report, Mrs. Sierra's husband, Steven, gave authorities her Facebook and Twitter correspondence with those individuals.

Authorities are yet to confirm that report.

A senior police official, however, did tell The Associated Press that Mrs. Sierra had exchanged messages with a person before she disappeared and police were now trying to trace the man or woman he described as a possible suspect in her disappearance.

The police official said Mrs. Sierra "presumably met" the person after she arrived in Istanbul. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules that bar civil servants from speaking to journalists without prior authorization.

Rep. Michael Grimm confirmed that the Turkish police are searching for at least one man who contacted Mrs. Sierra online. He said that they apparently agreed to meet on the Galata Bridge the day before she went missing.

Grimm couldn't say whether their meeting actually happened, nor could he speak of their relationship.

"There's nothing remarkable about their conversation, but the fact that he's the last person she had any contact with makes him a person of interest," Grimm said. "That's a solid lead that needs to be followed up on."

Grimm last spoke with Sierra on Tuesday evening. He said that Sierra has been meeting with local authorities in Istanbul, providing them with details about his wife's personality, passwords to her social media sites, and answering any other questions they have regarding her disappearance.

"He's very concerned and doesn't even want to think about what she might be going through," Grimm said.

Mrs. Sierra left for Istanbul on Jan. 7 and had been in regular contact with friends and family back in the U.S. Before she went missing, Mrs. Sierra told family members that she planned to take some photographs at Galata Bridge. She was supposed to begin traveling home on Jan. 21, but never checked into her flight back to New York.

Her husband, Steven, and brother, David Jimenez, traveled to Istanbul to help in the search and were interviewed by Istanbul police Tuesday. The two left police headquarters after about seven hours and were seen carrying a suitcase, which the state-run Anadolu Agency said belonged to Mrs. Sierra.

"I can say that the authorities are definitely working hard to find my wife," said Steven in an e-mail to the Advance on Wednesday. "It's been emotionally overwhelming cause it's been over a week, and now that I'm here in the very city she went missing it's just so hard. But, I and my family must rely on Hope & Faith in The Lord, & not allow fear to rule our thoughts & lives."

Mrs. Sierra's belongings, including her passport, were found in her hostel room.